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COVID-19s Impact on Divorce

We’re now nine weeks into the shelter-in-place order put into place by Santa Clara County as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and there is no doubt that the pandemic has had a significant impact on many people’s divorces. Initially, there were predictions for a second “baby boom” following the pandemic. Others predicted that instead of more babies, there would be more divorces. While it remains to be seen whether the pandemic will cause an increase in divorces , one thing that’s certain is that COVID-19 has caused slowing, if not a complete stalling, of many divorces.

Right now, Santa Clara County and Alameda County family courts are closed, and no hearings are being set except for domestic violence matters and emergency custody and visitation issues. Nearly all other hearings and court appearances scheduled from mid-March 2020 through the end of May have been continued. Naturally, this causes delay and disruption to an already emotional, and often time-consuming process.

The Santa Clara County Court has issued new guidelines on custody and visitation during the Covid-19 Public Health Guidelines. Please see the link and direct information below:


Quarantines and Custody Agreements: How Do Divorced and Separated Parents Handle Coronavirus?

Santa Clara County has been subject to a “Shelter in Place” order since March 17th.  This has prompted many of our clients to reach out an ask whether and/or how this will affect their custody arrangement.  This is a particularly tricky question for parents who live in different counties, or even states.

Heterosexual couples now have an alternative to marriage. As of January 1, 2020, heterosexual couples can now enter into domestic partnerships.

Prior to the new law going into effect, only same-sex couples and heterosexual couples over the age of 62 could enter into a domestic partnership. Since 2013 same-sex couples have been allowed the choice of either entering into a domestic partnership or entering into a marriage, but now domestic partnership is generally available to anyone who wishes to enter into one.

There are, however, still certain individuals who do not qualify to enter into a domestic partnership. This includes anyone under 18, people who are already married, people who are not legally allowed to marry, such as certain individuals related by blood, and those who are not capable of consenting to a domestic partnership.

Divorce is never an easy task to get through, but most of us survive it and can even end up happier on the other side. Then the holiday season arrives. The holidays are hard to get through even in the most perfect circumstances, so how does one survive the holidays when newly divorced or still going through a divorce? It’s no easy task but the way you handle it will not only determine how enjoyable the holidays are for your children, but how much you enjoy yourself around the holidays as well (which is likely well deserved).

According to the article below, the overriding theme to remember during the holidays following your divorce is that “you do you.” Sure, it sounds cliché, but really, you have just come out of what most would argue was not an ideal marriage, so why not focus on your happiness for a change? Here are some tips on how to make your life easier during the holidays:

Most people agree that going through a divorce isn’t easy. Even despite best efforts to work together and remain amicable with a soon-to-be ex-spouse during and following a divorce, doing so sometimes proves trickier than people anticipate. Luckily, there are now have several useful apps that can make interacting with your ex-spouse a little easier as outlined in the USA Today article below:

7 Divorce Apps Help Navigate Life With Your Ex

OurFamilyWizard is an app that many parties with children use. OurFamilyWizard, sometimes referred to as OFW, has several features which parents find useful, the first of which is a secure message board for parents to communicate through. This is helpful if parents find communicating through other methods, such as texting, difficult. Some of the app’s other features include an interactive calendar which parents can use to schedule who has the kids on which days and what upcoming extra-curricular activities the children may be participating in. It also has an expense logto help track the children’s expenses so that one parent can easily reimburse the other. Parents can also upload receipts and invoices for these expenses, and for an added fee, even make payments within OurFamilyWizard.  The app also has the ability to store medical history, insurance information, emergency contact information, and school schedules. OurFamilyWizard costs $99 annually.


The article highlights just how important it is for parents to work together to raise their children, even after they are separated. Divorced or separated parents are often so angry at the other parent, that they cannot see past their issues with each other to really work together to figure out what is best for their children. When parents cannot agree on issues such as schooling, visitation schedule changes and even day-to-day parenting issues, they are left with little choice but to turn to their attorneys, requesting discussions with opposing counsel and/or the court’s intervention. This results in both parties incurring significant and often unnecessary, attorney fees and costs, and causes stress not only for the parents, but for the children as well. Ultimately, it results in a judge making a decision about children he or she has never met. Clearly, a child’s parents are better suited to be making such decisions.










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